Fire-escape.



PATENTED JAN. 15, 1907.

T. NOONAN. FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. s, 1900 3 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

66553961 JQ/WM PATENTED JAN. 15, 1907.

T. NOONAN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8, 1906.

s SHEETSSH'EET 2.

T. NOONAN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED J'AN.8.1906.

PATENTED JAN. 15, 1907.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

1709/2232 J/ZMM MW A (WKW UNITED STATES THOMAS NOONAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 8, 1906. Serial No. 295,009.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS N OONAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of fireescapes which comprise a conveyer adapted to carry a person from the upper stories of' a building to the ground and one of its objects is the provision of improved means for controlling the movement of the conveyer.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for attaching to the conveyer a person who is unconscious or otherwise helpless.

'The invention also refers to the general improvement of fire-escapes with a view to increasing their capacity and efliciency.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a fragemental front elevation of a building equipped with a fire-escape embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said fire-escape. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through thefire-escape, showing the hand-operated braking devices. Fig. 4 is a view of said hand-operated braking devices in side elevation. Fig. 5 is a sectional view through said devices. Fig. 6 is a trans verse sectional view through one of the sup- .porting-platforms and the weight-operated braking devices. Fig. 7 is a top plan view of said platform and braking devices. Fig. 8 is a fraginental view ofone of the guide-rails with its brake-bars. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the upper end of the fire-escape, illustrating the means for guiding the platform onto the guide-rails. Fig 10 is a detail view of the brake-shoes and the members upon which they bear. Fig. 11 is a fragmental detail view of the means for controlling the action of the fire-escape from a point within the building.

In the drawings, 1 refers to the wall of a building, 2 to windows in said wall, and 3 to platforms or balconies outside said windows. The platforms 3 have openings 4 therein, through which the fire-escape extends. The fire-escape comprises two endless chains 5, running over two sprocket-wheels 6, fixed upon a shaft 7, rotatably supported at a suitable distance above the uppermost window 2 or other means of exit from the building. The lower portions of the chains 5 extend around. sprocket-wheels 8, carried by a shaft 9, rotatably supported at a suitable distance above the ground. Two vertical guide-rails 10 are rigidly fixed to the platforms 3, one rail being provided for the descending side of each of the chains 5. Said guide-rails are herein represented as formed from angle-iron, one web 11 of each rail extending alongside the chain and between the chain and the building, the other web 12 of said rail being at right angles to the web 11 and lying at the outer side of the chain. 1

The shaft 9 has fixed thereto outside each of the sprocket-wheels 8 a brake-disk 13, which brake-disks are arranged to be peripherally contacted by brake-shoes 14, carried at the lower ends of two brake-bars 15. brake-bars 15 lie in contact with the webs 11 of the guide-rails 10 and have a sliding engagement therewith by means of rivets 16 on said webs, each of which rivets lies within an elongated opening 17 in said brake-bars. One end of said 0 ening is enlarged to ermit of the insertion o the rivet-head into t e narrower portion of the opening, said narrower portion having inclined walls in order that the head of the rivet may lie wholly within the opening 17. Lugs 18 are formed upon said brake-bars 15 opposite each window, which lugs have elongated openings 19 ex tending therethrough. Brake-levers 20 are rotatably supported upon the webs 12 of the guide-rails 10, said levers in this instance being fixed with relation to a shaft 21, rotatably supported in bearing-openings 22 in said webs. Between their ends said levers extend through the elongated openings 19 of Patented Jan. 15, 1907.

The

the lugs 18, and the free ends of said levers project into the building through openings 23 in the wall 1. Downward pressure exerted upon said levers by a person within the building moves the brake-bars 15 and forces the shoes 14 into frictional engagement with the brake-disks 13.

At intervals in the length of the chains 5, corresponding substantially with the vertical distance between windows in the building, I place rungs 24, each rung being pivotally connected with opposite links of said chains. This pivotal connection is herein represented as formed by means of reduced ends or journals 25 on the rung extending through openings (not shown) in said links. A latform 26 is pivotally connected with each of the rungs 24 by means of brackets 27, fixed to the platform and pivoted to cars 28 on one side of the rung. A central longitudinal opening 29 is formed in the rung 24, within which opening near the ends of the rung are pivoted two bell-crank levers 30. The long arms of said levers lie mainly within the open ing 29 and their adjacent ends are connected to the middle bracket 27 by means of links 31. The shorter arms of said levers are angular and have fixed to their outer ends brake-shoes 32, adapted to bear upon the outer side of the brakebars 15. At their ends the rungs 24 carry brake-shoes 33, adapted to bear upon the inner side bf the webs 11 of the guide-rails 10. Each of said shoes 32 33 is provided with a leather frictionface 34. In order to hold the brake-shoes 32 33 apart when the weight of the platform is I not acting to force them together, (as when the platform is passing over the sprocketwheel 6,) I provide expansion coiled springs 35, lying within the openings 29 and attached at opposite ends to the rung 24 and. the, long arms of the brake-levers 30.

At a suitable distance above each platform 26 I attach to the chains 5 rungs 36, having connected thereto brake-shoes 37 and brakelevers38, provided with shoes 39, all substantiallyidentical in construction with the rungs 24, brake-levers 30, and brake-shoes 32 and 33. A hand-lever 40 is pivoted to ears 41 on each of said rungs 36, to which hand lever the long arms of the brake-levers 38 are connected bylinks42.

Means is provided for attaching a helpless person to the conveyer, said means consisting of a chain 43, attached to the hand-lever 40, and a hook 44 on said lever. In use the chain is passed around the body just beneath the arms and a link in the free end of the chain placed over said hook.

To guide the brake-shoes 32, 33, 37, and 39 into proper engagement with the guiderails 10 and brake-bars 15, I provide between the sprocket wheels 6 a semicylindrical shell 45, said shell being supported from the guiderails 10 upon brackets 46 and being adapted to supportthe platforms 26 and. hand-levers 40 when said platforms and levers are passing around said sprocket-wheels. A pawl 47 j is pivotally supported. in an opening 48 in the shell 45, said pawl comprising a projection 49, adapted to be engaged by the rungs 24 and 36, and an arm 50, rigid with said projection 49. WVh'en the projection 49 is engaged and moved by a rung, the arm 50 throws the platform or hand-lever attached to said rung outward or away from the shell 45. The pawl 47 is restored. to its normal position by a weighted arm 51 or equivalent means. The webs 11 of the guiderails 10 project upwardly beyond the upper ends of the webs 12 into position to be engaged on opposite sides b y the brake-shoes 32 33 or 37 39 as the platform 26 or hand-lever 40 is thrown outward bythe pawl 47. Said brakesho'es'. are held apart at this time by the springs 35, and the upper ends of the webs 1 1 are sharpened to facilitate their entrance between the pairs of brake-shoes.

In operation a person leaving the building through a window 2 steps upon one of the platforms 26 and grasps the rung 36 next above said platform. The load upon the platform operates the conveyer, the platforms upon the side of the conveyer adjacent to the building descending and the platforms upon the other side of the conveyer ascending. The weight of the person upon the platform increases the pressure of the brakeshoes 32 33 upon the webs lland brake-rods 15 by reason of the connections 30 31 be tween said platform and the shoes 32 and the pivotal connection between the platform andthe rung. If the braking action of the shoes 32 33 is not sufiicient to prevent an we cessive rate of descent, the person using the fire-escape operates the hand-lever 40 to increase the pressure of the brake-shoes 37 39 upon the webs 11 and brake-bars 15. The rate of descent of a person upon the fire-escape may also be controlled by a person within the building by means of the brake-levers 20. Force exerted upon the brake-bars 15 by means of the lovers 20 or the brake-shoes 32 39 is transmitted to the brake-shoes 14, the frictional engagement of which with the brake-disks 13 is thereby increased.

The form and arrangement of. the parts herein shown may be changed. in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, wherefore I do not limit myself to the precise details herein set forth.

I claim as my invention 1. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising a pivotally-mounted platform; a braking device operated by said platform, comprising a lever carrying a brake-shoe, said lever being operated by the pivotal movement of said platform; and a member adapted to be engaged by said brake-shoe. p

2. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising a chain and a pivotallymounted. platform; a guide-rail adjacent to said chain; and means connected with said platform and said chain, engaging opposite sides of said guide-rail and operated by the pivotal movement of the platform, for main taining said platform in a horizontal position.

3. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising a chain and a platform pivotally connected with said chain; a guiderail; a brake-shoe connected with said platform and adapted to slide in contact with said guide-rail; and a brake-shoe connected with said chain, also adapted to slide upon said rail. v

4. In a fireescape, in combination, a conveyer comprising two traveling chains; a rung connected with said chains a platform pivoted to said rung; a guide-rail; and a brake-lever carried by said rung and adapted to be moved by the pivotal movement of said platform, said brake-lever carrying a shoe adapted to engage said guide-rail.

5. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising two traveling chains; a rung connected with said chains; a platform pivoted to said rung; a guide-rail for each of said chains; two brake-levers pivoted to said rung and having a link connection with said platform, said brake-levers being provided with brake-shoes adapted to engage said guide-rails; and brake-shoes carried by said rung.

6. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising two traveling chains; a rung connected with said chains; a handlever pivoted to said rung; a guide-rail for each of said chains; and brake-shoes adapted to engage said rails and operatively connected with said hand-lever.

7. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising two endless chains; sprocket-wheels for supporting said chains; a platform connected with said chains; a guide-rail; brake-shoes connected with said platform and adapted to engage said guiderail; and a pivoted pawl for pivotally moving said platform.

8. In a fireescape, in combination, a conveyer comprising two endless chains; sprocket-wheels for supporting said chains; a platform connected with said chains; a guide-rail; brake-shoes connected with said platform and adapted to engage said guiderail; a shell between said sprocket-wheels; and a pawl pivotally supported in the path of said chains and adapted to pivotally move said platform.

9. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising two endless chains; a platform pivotally connected with said chains; a guide-rail; a pair of brake-shoes connected with said platform and adapted to engage said guiderail; means tending to support said brake-shoes; and means for pivotally moving said platform into position for said brake-shoes to engage said guide-rails.

10. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising an endless chain; sprocket-wheels for supporting said chain; a brake-disk fixed with relation to one of said sprocket-wheels; a brake-bar provided with a shoe adapted to engage said brake-disk; a platform connected with said chain; and a brake-shoe connected with said platform and adapted to bear upon said brake-bar.

11. In a fire-escape, in combination, a conveyer comprising a traveling chain; a stationary member; a brake-shoe arranged to travel with said chain and adapted to bear upon said stationary member a lever for setting said brake-shoe; and a carryingchain adapted to be attached at its ends to said lever.

THOMAS NOONAN. Witnesses:

GEORGE L. CHINDAHL, M. M. DALEY. 

